Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires 70,076 Shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,850,319 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 70,076 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending were worth $36,192,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 377.5% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 123,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,449,000 after acquiring an additional 97,893 shares in the last quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the third quarter valued at approximately $377,000. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 64.8% in the second quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 30,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $671,000 after purchasing an additional 12,076 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the 1st quarter worth approximately $223,000.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Stock Performance

NYSE MSDL opened at $20.02 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.79 billion and a PE ratio of 6.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The business’s 50-day moving average is $19.96. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has a 52-week low of $19.05 and a 52-week high of $24.18.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.63. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending had a net margin of 60.60% and a return on equity of 12.57%. The firm had revenue of $104.19 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 million. As a group, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a — dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a yield of 10.1%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group downgraded Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $23.50 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.42.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Profile

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund is a business development company. It is a non-diversified, externally managed specialty finance company focused on lending to middle-market companies. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund is based in NEW YORK.